Corgis and Vets
I know there was some discussion awhile back about how many vets seem prejudiced against Corgis, people were theorizing on why, and I thought it would make an interesting topic.
We recently had Jack to the vet for his annual checkup. Now, Jack has been to the vet's office several times recently for weigh-ins, so he's an old pro at the scale. The vet who we saw is an experienced guy who looks like he may be nearing retirement age. The scale was all the way up, and I said "Oh, if you lower it, he'll hop right on."
So, the scale went "Whiirrrr" and Jack pricked his ears and took a step back, and then when it was on the ground I snapped my fingers and said "Jack, up!" and he hopped on the scale, and sat on command. Then the scale wasn't resetting right, so we had to hop off and reset the scale and do it all again. The vet commented "What a well-trained dog!" which pleased me more than 100 strangers in a park saying what a good dog we have. But I said "Ah, wait til he's on the table!"
Well, as I suspected, Jack was cool as a cucumber in the room while we chatted with the vet. Then we put him on the table, and game over. He HATES it. He is not a nipper, so he doesn't try to bite, but he tries to scramble backwards, jump off, get away. He cries. His little heart is pounding. I don't think it's heights, as we have popped him up on picnic tables several times and he's calm. And it's not being handled, as he passed CGC with a stranger looking in his ears and mouth.
I think it's being crowded. Getting the exam done took all our obedience skills. Lots of "Jack, staaayyy, stay" very calmly got him to hold still (tense as could be) long enough to have eyes, ears, teeth, etc checked.
And after all that, the vet smiled and said "He's pretty good for a Corgi. A lot of them I've seen need to be tranquilized to even be examined." I was pretty surprised at that, as this vet is super calm and really good with the animals, but he said they seem to hate being confined. I do know I read that once or twice online as well.
He also said (and this I believe) that many of them are great and loyal, loving family dogs, but not so good with strangers, so it was good that I had socialized mine. Now my Corgi loves everyone he meets, but we got from a breeder who breeds outgoing personalities, and we socialized him within an inch of his life when he was a puppy.
How is your Corgi at the vet? And what does your vet think of Corgis? Mine was nice as could be and he didn't sound hostile when he described what he's seen, just matter-of-fact.
We also visited a breeder on Saturday, and she mentioned that a lot of vets don't really like working on Corgis.
In the meantime, I am going to try to find someone with a grooming table so we can work on Jack being up high while people loom over him, as it's that very specific combination of events which sets him off (I believe he feels trapped, as he does not mind being crowded on the ground).
We recently had Jack to the vet for his annual checkup. Now, Jack has been to the vet's office several times recently for weigh-ins, so he's an old pro at the scale. The vet who we saw is an experienced guy who looks like he may be nearing retirement age. The scale was all the way up, and I said "Oh, if you lower it, he'll hop right on."
So, the scale went "Whiirrrr" and Jack pricked his ears and took a step back, and then when it was on the ground I snapped my fingers and said "Jack, up!" and he hopped on the scale, and sat on command. Then the scale wasn't resetting right, so we had to hop off and reset the scale and do it all again. The vet commented "What a well-trained dog!" which pleased me more than 100 strangers in a park saying what a good dog we have. But I said "Ah, wait til he's on the table!"
Well, as I suspected, Jack was cool as a cucumber in the room while we chatted with the vet. Then we put him on the table, and game over. He HATES it. He is not a nipper, so he doesn't try to bite, but he tries to scramble backwards, jump off, get away. He cries. His little heart is pounding. I don't think it's heights, as we have popped him up on picnic tables several times and he's calm. And it's not being handled, as he passed CGC with a stranger looking in his ears and mouth.
I think it's being crowded. Getting the exam done took all our obedience skills. Lots of "Jack, staaayyy, stay" very calmly got him to hold still (tense as could be) long enough to have eyes, ears, teeth, etc checked.
And after all that, the vet smiled and said "He's pretty good for a Corgi. A lot of them I've seen need to be tranquilized to even be examined." I was pretty surprised at that, as this vet is super calm and really good with the animals, but he said they seem to hate being confined. I do know I read that once or twice online as well.
He also said (and this I believe) that many of them are great and loyal, loving family dogs, but not so good with strangers, so it was good that I had socialized mine. Now my Corgi loves everyone he meets, but we got from a breeder who breeds outgoing personalities, and we socialized him within an inch of his life when he was a puppy.
How is your Corgi at the vet? And what does your vet think of Corgis? Mine was nice as could be and he didn't sound hostile when he described what he's seen, just matter-of-fact.
We also visited a breeder on Saturday, and she mentioned that a lot of vets don't really like working on Corgis.
In the meantime, I am going to try to find someone with a grooming table so we can work on Jack being up high while people loom over him, as it's that very specific combination of events which sets him off (I believe he feels trapped, as he does not mind being crowded on the ground).
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Amy and Marlee on
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Marlee was the biggest baby at the vets office. She was given her final puppy shot, under the skin mind you, and she WAAAAAILED longer than any dog I've ever known. It then turned into a howl. She was so loud that she could be heard throughout the office. You'd have thought she was dying. She did not like the vet after that at all. She kept an eye on him the rest of the visit.
I had a Pug who loved the vet, the more shots the better, a Miniature Pincher who just didn't seem to know what was going on, and a stray Blue Healer who was always very polite.
The only dog who is similar to the corgi is my Schipperke. She dislikes the vet as well. She will snap at them almost immediately. We have to muzzle her, and she still fights every attempt to examine her. Interestingly enough, some people believe the corgi breed has Schipperke ancestry. Maybe the Corgis got it from the Schipps.
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Permalink Reply by Becky S on
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Last year we changed vets (not due to problems with them being corgis, but because of other issued I didn't like). We love our new vet. She knows that Lilly does best when she gets down on the floor and lets her snuggle up in her lap for her shots, etc., but Brody is better up on the table. I think he feels like we're ganging up on him if we're down on the floor. He has figured out by the 2nd treat or so that treat = shot and won't even look at the treat! He'll snarl his lips, growl and then when it's all done turn around and give her kisses! They are both great at getting on the scale, one at a time they will jump on and sit until told to get off. Brody can be a little out of control trying to "meet" everyone in the waiting room while LIlly just wants to sit on my lap and observe.
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Permalink Reply by Denise Hawkins on
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We had terrible trouble with our 1st corgi Basil. He was the most laid back dog in the world, until we went to the V E T..... even the mention of it made him tremble and hide, hence the spelling of it!
We would have to muzzle him as soon as we walked into the exam room as he snarled and would all of those perfect teeth like he was some kind of savage. We tried really hard to calm him but it never worked, he was even muzzled the time we had him put to sleep, well as soon as the needle went in, off came the muzzle and the gentle man that we knew surfaced as he drifted off, to the point that the Vet could not believe the change in him.As for Archie and Reggie neither of them mind the Vet at all, in fact when Archie had a skin complaint, he sat totally still and let 2 Vetinary Nurses shave half of his back. They said they had never seen a dog do that and rewarded him handsomely. I wonder sometimes if the dogs pick up on the atmosphere in the Vets, from the humans to the other animals there, especially if there is a particularly hyper/ exciteable/nervous pet there.
I hope that because Archie had such a positive experience the 1st time he went to our Vet he will remain calm for always.
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Permalink Reply by Sunni A. on
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All the vets and assistants at our clinic say corgis are protective of their bodies and try to do the scramble away thing as soon as the exam begins, and that some are nippy. However, Eddy does not notice a thermometer or needle if we have treats for him. He truly does not mind his ears, eyes, teeth, and torso being prodded. He just freaks out when they bring out a tool of some sort, so out come the treats at that time. One vet said she thinks Eddy needs to be further socialized (I was like, HMPH.). But the other vets said he's fine, because he's very friendly and licky and cute until they pull out a pen or a dropper or something else hard and inanimate.
He's great on the table, the scale, and running around the office in general. He tolerated nail clipping with only an initial moment of squirming.
Things'll change as he grows older of course.. though for better or worse, I have yet to find out..
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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"Protective of their bodies." Ah, that makes the most sense out of any way I have heard it phrased.
My guess is it might be an unintended side-trait of something they were selectively bred for. They herd cattle, and cattle kick. A cow kick could probably be fatal to a dog. So my guess is the ones that were hyper-vigilant about their space fared the best.
They say the sound-phobia in the big-running sheep dogs (border collies, rough collies) probably has to do with the fact that they needed to be alert to the shepherd's whistles even from several fields away. They therefore tend to be sound-sensitive. Not all collies or borders are sound-sensitive, but many of them are and they need not have a bad experience to be that way.
It seems that many Corgis are body-sensitive and also don't need bad experiences to be that way. Our Corgi came to us having been handled extensively. This is a trait he picked up spontaneously at about 12 weeks of age, despite having been handled consistently. As I said, he won't bite, but he panics in his efforts to get away.
Even at home, I can, say, pick up his foot, but if I try to pull his foot towards me his instant reaction is to try to pull back away and it's taken extensive conditioning to try to get him to tolerate it. I've had other dogs that you could literally grab their paws and swing them around and they would just give you a weird look.
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Permalink Reply by Owen's Mom on
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haha.. we just got done at the vet. The vet said it was corgi day and that all of them had been as nice as Owen. Owen is great until you try to do something but he doesn't bite. He just has a growl that may scare you if you didn't know any better. I held his head, rubbed his ears while he whined through his shots. Owen's legs shake a bit on the table but I think it is the slick surface.
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Permalink Reply by Lewis & Bumblebee -BJ - on
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My Puppy is 4 months old we went there 2 times for shots and physical checkup and he is really really good at the Vet and very calm when we put him on the exam table.... he only herd and bark at me for attention... thats annoying!>_/body>
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Permalink Reply by Anne on
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We had trouble with our beagles hating the Vet and acted like they were being abused. Howled, shed lots of fur, and wined, then when the door opened were happy as could be as if nothing had been going on. When it came time to choose a Vet for our shy cardi girl, Le-Le we went to a Vet who we had years ago but moved to a smaller practice about 50 minutes from our house. Le-Le likes woman best so we felt the drive was worth it. The vet gave cheese-wiz to her while she was during the exam and Le-Le was fine. Our girl is very shy so any place with new people is hard for her and vet's office with all the smells is not a happy place for her.
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Permalink Reply by Yogi and Abby on
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Funny that you mentioned this...Abby has been fine, but she isn't a very smart dog...it's awful to say it, but she just trusts anyone who would rub her. Yogi, on the other hand, he's very wary. His odd vet behaviour started after his neuter, and he got kennel cough right after we took him home from the vet for his neuter, and we hadn't been to the park or daycare that week, so we knew it was from the vet's kennel. And from then on, he literally HATES vets. just the sight or smell of his vet's office is enough to get him going nuts. last time we took him to the vet to check his limp and his anal glands, it took 3 people to hold him down. He jumped off the high table one time, and it was a good thing I caught him as he was jumping like a superman...and god knows he's heavy. The vet commented that he needs an obedience class...I was offended, but i agree he needs to go to class...even though he's always so good unleashed, and he listens...he just doesn't listen when he's at the vet's. I can't blame him, i don't like my doctor either. Abby was just enjoying herself at the vet while yogi was being held down...she'd chase her tail all around the office...
With the scale, yogi wouldn't go on it, and he knows something is up, so he just tries to be as bad as possible. But when Abby is the one who needs to go to the vet, yogi willingly went on the scale and stood on it. *sigh* don't know what to do.
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Permalink Reply by Michelle on
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I just feel blessed. We have a GREAT vet that always seems to be a bit fascinated by our little brats. They like going to the Vet it means that they get to hang out with other doggies which they both love and get to go on a road trip...another favorite of our two. I agree that they don't seem particularly crazy about the cold table but alot of times our vet will work with them on the floor....Great guy.
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Permalink Reply by Amanda & Tuck on
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Tucker does great at the vet until he has to get a shot or have blood drawn. I had only had him a couple of days and took him to the vet for tests, etc. The vet is super nice and Tucker was behaving well so he started to try to draw blood, did not go well - so he brought in a vet tech to help - Tucker FREAKED when they tried to hold him down. He was not amused. They ended up bringing him into the other room I think so I wouldn't have to witness what would go down. I could hear him down the hall - it sounded like they were trying to kill him and he was fighting for his life. The vet actually stopped in partway through and said - don't worry we are not trying to kill your dog and he is almost done.
A lot of horse people live in the area and have corgis - so the vet said he sees a lot of them. He said they have a really rough time compared to any other breed with having their nails clipped and with anything to do with their legs/paws. He never indicated any dislike of the breed though and seemed to really like Tucker.
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on
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The first time our vet saw Seanna, he nick-named her "the Drama Queen". You would have thought she was being murdered--she screamed whenever he touched her. I worked with her for weeks every day- looking at her ears, teeth, and going over her like he would. I put her on her back in between my legs to do this, as it's a submissive position. She fought me at first, but now is perfect. I can do whatever I want to her, and so can the vet with her standing on the table without protests from her. It also made it easier to do her nails--I Dremel them while she is in this position, and she goes right to sleep. The vet said he thought for sure she was going to be a problem, but she turned out perfect! He loves her now, says a lot of his vet friends that work on large animals have them, and they go on all their calls with them.
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